Melair Stakes

Purse $125.00 – For Fillies Three Years Old Foaled In CA

1 1/16 Miles – Dirt

Santa Anita Park – May 23, 2026

The 18th running of the Melair Stakes produced a thrilling stretch duel, with Pretty Pretty Good surging late to catch Cappelletti in the final strides. The five-horse field ended up going down to four horses as Riggins Racing’s Madame Masque was a late scratch. The daughter of Fire Be Good now has back-to-back victories, winning by a nose, so it’s fair to say she knows where the wire is. Stopping the clock in 1:42.13 for the 1 1/8-mile distance, Pretty Pretty Good added another impressive effort to her résumé. The win also boosted her lifetime earnings to $207.36. The dramatic victory also proved historic for La Canada Racehorses and jockey Umberto Rispoli, who celebrated their first-ever success in the Melair Stakes. Connections should be thrilled with this filly’s effort coming out of an N1X. Pretty Pretty Good stepped forward nicely and once again showed that she’s very effective coming from off the pace. A well-deserved victory for the connections. Well done!

Winner: Pretty Pretty Good – (La Canada Racehorses, U. Rispoli) Comparing this effort to her last race, Pretty Pretty Good sat a little closer to the pace. Obviously, because it was a four-horse field, but she settled in second around the first turn and down the backside by about a length. This filly didn’t out break Spirit Dreams, who broke from the one post, so she ended up racing two wide the entire way around the racetrack. The pacesetter started to kick away rounding the far turn, and jockey Umberto Rispoli had to start asking Pretty Pretty Good to go. It wasn’t until the final furlong that her presence started to be felt. The final strides were fun to watch as Cappelletti got nailed right on the wire. Congratulations!

Second Place: Cappelletti – (D J C Racing Stables, J. Laprida) This was no question a heartbreaking loss for the post-time favorite. She broke very quickly from the gate and put a length on the field in the blink of an eye. Cappelletti dictated the terms upfront and set early fractions of: 24.06, 48.13, and 1:12.13. The D J C Racing Stables homebred fought so gallantly around the far turn and in the stretch to keep his one-length advantage all the way until the final furlong. You can see Pretty Pretty Good was slowly making up ground, and jockey Jeremy Laprida was scrubbing looking for the wire. Unfortunately, this filly wasn’t able to hold on and she had to settle for second place. This was undoubtedly a career-best effort.

Third Place: Spirit Dreams – (The Sidley Stud, V. Del-Cid) Connections couldn’t have asked for a better trip as this daughter of Hogshead saved ground the entire way around the racetrack. She sat in third, about two lengths off the pace down the backstretch just to the inside of the eventual winner. There wasn’t much change rounding the far turn, and Vicente Del-Cid was just waiting patiently to make his move. He started to ask Spirit Dreams at the top of the stretch, however there wasn’t much of a response. She ended up finishing third by a clear margin in her stakes debut. Coming out of a starter allowance, this wasn’t a terrible effort. Spirit Dreams will be very competitive in allowance company down the road.

Fourth Place: Space Haggis – (TwinTowersRacing, K. Kimura) This filly has shown a powerful late turn of foot from far behind in her previous races, and connections didn’t change tactics. Space Haggis broke just ok, and jockey Kazushi Kimura had her running three-wide into the first turn. There was a lot of lost ground going down the backstretch, as this daughter of Starship Haggis settled in last about four lengths off the pacesetter. It’s no question connections were hoping for fast fractions, but with the half-mile fraction being 48.13, Cappelletti was not going to be very tired late. Space Haggis tried to launch a bid at the ⅜ pole and just couldn’t keep up with the pack. It’s worth pointing out that blinkers were removed for this start.

– AJM

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded